


The Art of Independence

by Awkwarddragons



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, EXO (Band), NCT (Band)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Equestrian, Fantasy, Fluff, Horses, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Summaries, Just check it out, King Do Kyungsoo | D.O, Kyungsoo is a dad, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Princes & Princesses, Romance, Royalty, Sehun is a bard, Slow Burn, possibly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:40:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24478855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awkwarddragons/pseuds/Awkwarddragons
Summary: Kyungsoo has ruled alone for five years and managed perfectly fine. The constant backlash from the North Kingdom and remaining citizens from the former Middle Kingdom are trivial problems that can be dealt with by mere paperwork. However, the only problem Kyungsoo faces on a daily basis and has yet to find a solution for is his seven year old daughter, Do Sung-Hee.Then he catches wind of a horse trainer named Kai and suddenly the solution for his daughters endless need for adventure seems to have been solved. Maybe along the way he can fix the other problems of his life permanently instead of pushing them off to the side.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Wong Kun Hang | Hendery, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Kim Jongdae | Chen/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Oh Sehun, Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Lu Han
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	The Art of Independence

The castle belonging to the Middle Kingdom is old and weary, ancient as many call it. All of the main halls and rooms are built with bricks that are worn on the outside and pristine white on the inside. Rugs of every kind adorn the floors and massive glass chandeliers hang from every ceiling possible. No two passageways look the same, with the tapestries, portraits, and sprawling windows being the only real difference.

It’s a heaven that people often get lost among.

It’s truly a castle built for only the best royalty. The purest, the strongest, and only the wisest.

Or so Kyungsoo has heard.

The well known tales about the royal family of the Middle Kingdom are popular across the other four kingdoms and praised upon like some of the Gods worshipped in the East Kingdom.

Kyungsoo has heard the tales and longed to meet the famed heroes who conquered the Middle Kingdome and successfully branched out into four other kingdoms.

One kingdom that is Kyungsoos and someday he will be an advisor and aid to his brother who will rule. However, learning more about the other kingdoms never hurt and therefore he was sent off to spend a fortnight in the Middle Kingdom.

Kyungsoo has learned the basic rules and has so far only met the king, queen, and eldest princess. Meaning that there was still another royal to be introduced to, the youngest princess of the kingdom who was only two years older than Kyungsoo, Princess Jin.

From the mere rumors whispered amongst the servants and guards he could guess that the youngest princess was a loose cannon. He heard that she loved to get lost in the art of fighting, something that was not deemed at all what a princess should be doing. As compared to the oldest princes that he met earlier Princess Jin was surely less like a princess and more like a crown prince in training. Very advanced training. 

Albeit the short initial meeting with the royals of the Middle Kingdom he was able to understand the eldest princess’ mindset. She was prim and proper whereas her younger sister was unrefined and indelicate. It was an interesting contrast that Kyungsoo couldn’t see at all in the relationship between him and his elder brother.

The meeting with the royals so short that it was disappointing to all and thus the promise of further introductions over dinner were made. Maybe then he would be able to prove the rumors he’s heard and get to know another person his age, even if she is a bit off the rocks.

According to the books that Kyungsoo read cover to cover in the comfort of the library from the West Kingdom back home, the royal family of the Middle Kingdom is blessed with smarts, looks, and the utmost fighting ability. Some of the book passages claim that they are like well bred war stallions, built for a singular purpose of upholding peace among the other five kingdoms.

Of course the Middle Kingdoms had a well known secondary purpose to remain as a central hub for trade.

Kyungsoo knows why he’s at the castle, it’s not something that he was unaware of. He is here solely to learn more about the Middle Kingdoms unique methods of trading and what makes for an effective trade. If he is to aid his brother in the act of leading their kingdom, then he should uphold a variety of skills that can allow for him to react to an endless amount of situations. In simpler terms his brother told him briefly he was to become the shield that he would wield during confrontations of any matter.

His mother shunned his brother and yelled at him for tainting Kyungsoos innocence as she overheard them discussing the future. She too kwhat his brother said and simplified it into her own language that she could understand and that she seemed to hope that Kyungsoo would also understand. To her this trip is to aid in learning about trade and how to avoid getting robbed from a sketchy deal that could hinder Kyungsoos kingdom.

It seemed that no matter who or what positon he would be as he got older he would always be a step behind his brother. Despite that he seemed to learn twice as much.

Kyungsoo sighs at the thought and shakes his head, finally breaking himself out from his thoughts. He stopped short after a moment though realizing that he’s not where he should be. The tapestries are larger and there isn’t a single portrait lining the walls. Alongside that not a single vase is sitting atop any of the oddly placed columns, instead there are mere clothes with nothing else on top. It seemed odd, but Kyungsoo wasn’t in the right state of mind to get into a fight with the royal interior designer of the Middle Kingdom. 

Kyungsoo runs to the closest window and takes a look outside, noting how the sun was still high up in the sky signaling that not much time has past since he left the breakfast table. 

The young prince releasing the breath he’s been holding and takes a moment to not panic entirely. It’s not good for such a high standing royal to loose their face and yet for a moment Kyungsoo drops the royal act all together, cursing about how he allowed his thoughts to get him mixed up and lost. Either his thoughts or the massive amount of hallways and wings in this castle. Maybe that’s why he was wandering the castle halls lost with not a single sense of direction. 

If Kyungsoo wasn’t in such a state of disarray, then maybe he could efficiently realize the difference between the never ending halls. He could begin to navigate his way to the library for his lessons of the Middle Kingdoms history and how it branched off to form his own kingdom as planned. Maybe then he wouldn’t be panicking and thinking of some far fetched scenario that results in him dying at the young age of seven.

If he did end up dying then his brother would probably loose his mind and have to rule the kingdom alone. Kyungsoo wondered for another mere moment if his brother would die as well.

“Pull yourself together.” Kyungsoo muttered to himself, shaking his head and tapping it against the books in his hand lightly.

The young prince takes a moment and composes himself as much as possible before holding his head up high and continuing through the halls. Kyungsoo does hope that no one saw his minor crisis and little breakdown. Yet if someone did happen to see then they could possibly help him locate the main library. It’s one of those win loose situations with no real positive outcome. However, no one called out to him and no one noticed the faint trace of tears that remained on his cheeks meaning that he was to decide right then and there what to do.

Should he go forward into the unknown hallways or step back retrace his steps. 

It wasn’t good for royalty to act weak and vulnerable like the common folk and farmers. Royalty _need_ to act like royalty and not commoners. This included being troubled and outwardly showing such trouble.

Kyungsoo stops right in front of another sprawling window and slams his head against the glass as hard as possible, bruises and blood be dammed. He exhales and inhales once keeping his mind from wandering into dark thoughts and consuming only negatives that would result from his minor misstep.

Kyungsoo sinks to the ground and stares out the window, doing his best to quell his worries for a moment.

Sooner or later someone would find it, that much was evident. However, he wanted to be found now and wanted to feel safe and not lost in such a foreign place.

Kyungsoo sniffled and wiped his eyes for any stray tears before contemplating what to do in this situation. He could always go back and retrace his steps, explaining to his teacher later that he merely got lost amongst the castle and had to find his way through his temporary home. Either that or he could sit here and wait for a miracle to happen.

The options were confusing and Kyungsoo held back his tears, doing another look around the hall and still seeing nothing.

Then he does spot something, though it’s not inside but rather outside.

He stands and wastes no time in pressing his face against the glass to better see what was going on outside. The scene is blurry from the distance he’s at and for a moment he wants to call quits, continuing on his search for help or the royal library.

Kyungsoo squints and presses against the glass even more to better see what was occurring outside near what appeared to the royal stables.

From his young eyes and where he’s standing it seems as if a young boy is leading around a giant horse as dark as midnight with no fear at all. Kyungsoo watches in awe as the boy leads the beast around and then gets on it’s back, moving it around the fenced space without all the added equipment he commonly sees on the massive creatures.

It’s impressive and Kyungsoo wants to know more. He wants to run away from his lessons for once and talk to the boy outside about how he came to manage control over such a large creature. A feat unheard of to his young ears. That would surely put the small misdirection incident behind his family and brother if he managed to tame such an unruly creature.

“He’s good isn’t he?”

Kyungsoo startles and jumps back so far that he falls back onto the rugs, breathing heavy and yet his eyes bright. Finally, someone to help him find the way back to his lessons. 

After taking a second or few to brush off the initial scare he looks up to find one of the princesses there. If he remembers correctly from the brief introductions earlier in the day, this is the oldest princess who was a total of eight years older than him, making her well into her young adult years.

She was a lady.

A lady, prim and proper as every princess should be. 

Suddenly Kyungsoo grew conscientious of his actions. He stood quickly and bowed as far as his body would allow. If he was not in fear of a scolding for dirtying his clothes he would get on the floor and bow completely to the eldest princess. Despite being royalty he was in another person’s kingdom and owed them the same amount of respect as any other common folk.

“My sincerest apologizes your highness.”

Kyungsoo waits a moment, not lifting his head until told when all of a sudden laughter fills the halls. On sheer impulse alone Kyungsoo looks up to find the eldest princess with her head thrown back and loud laughter coming from her. It seems unnatural and unlike such royalty to be seen doing such a thing.

“Kyungsoo my gosh you are a silly little thing.” She laughs again and seemingly wipes a couple tears from her eyes. “There is no need to be so formal, relax and liven up a bit. It’s just us down these halls.” She does a weird act with her shoulders, rolling them almost, and dons a wide smile on her face, it eases Kyungsoos worry just a bit. For a moment he sighs, be it from relief or finally getting a chance to get to his lesson before the days end he has no clue.

“So where are we exactly?” Kyungsoo asks after a moment of silence as the princess seemingly regains her composure.

“Somewhere a bit past the west wing and you are needed in the east wing. The whole castle is practically looking for you like this is some massive game of hide and seek.” The princess took his hand and Kyungsoo blushed from the contact. No one was supposed to touch royalty, especially the princesses. If Kyungsoo was of any lower status his hand would be as good as gone. “The staff have been searching for you since half past lunch and by this point you’re more than late. But don’t worry! Mary is sweet and excellent at what she teaches. I’m sure you’ll be able to still learn the needed material while you’re here.”

She drags them halfway down the hall when Kyungsoo stops suddenly.

He hurries to the closest window and peers outside, disappointment immediately showing on his face.

The boy and horse were amiss and or he was to far from the yard to see them properly.

“Ah were you watching Nini?” The princess joins his side and seems to catch on with what he was doing and planning to do, or investigate, instead of attending his lesson. “He’s the best at controlling the horses and has even tamed several of father’s war stallions. The funniest part though is that he’s a year younger than you.”

Kyungsoo nodded along to her words, listening and yet still trying to locate where the rider could have traveled. He was so absorbed in looking at the seemingly endless yard that he wasn’t aware of the princess’s actions until she pulled him back in the direction he was initially traveling.

“Where are we—”

“Sh!” The eldest princess cut his sentence off abruptly before he could finish and donned another trademark grin as the answer to his question. She didn’t speak another word as she dragged him down the halls and through the passageways with familiarity and ease.

Finally, after what felt like hours of running she stopped short at a room. 

“Where—”

Once again Kyungsoo was cut off by the princess albeit this time she held a finger to her lips as if telling him to be quiet. Kyungsoo gave up asking and shrugged at the eldest princess’ actions. He assumed the younger princess to be wild, but maybe he was to quick to judge.

The princess opened the door stepped aside for Kyungsoo to enter. He wanted to argue, but knowing the princess it was unlikely that she would go first into the room. So instead Kyungsoo stepped inside, leaving her to close the door and lock them in.

The room was smaller than average and ultimately empty with only a few couches and a small library, nothing near the size of the royal library in the supposed east wing. From the lack of furniture and dust that seemed to be on every surface the room must be unused and further more the entire hall might be unused.

“Did I get lost in an unused wing?”

The princess shrugged joining him the center of room for a moment before crossing to the balcony that he missed at first.

“Well in short terms yes, but don’t fret about it. This place is huge everyone gets lost at some point. You were just lucky to be found.” She smiled at him again and Kyungsoo felt it becoming an odd gesture that was borderline friendly and creepy. Combined with how the princess talks with her hands it made it a lot weirder. Weirder and yet very much like the princess that he was slowly beginning to understand.

His thoughts went away though when she pulled the balcony doors open wide, throwing them open and stepping outside in the afternoon sun. Kyungsoo ran and joined her after a moment, stopping temporarily to take in the scene before him.

It seemed that Kyungsoo had wandered further than an unused wing as this part of castle was right near the stables and far away from the royal gardens that surrounded the main wings of the castle. He could already imagine the lectures he was going to receive later, for getting lost and skipping his first lesson. Not to mention he seems to have misplaced his book from point a to point b. 

“There he is!” The princess shouted in a quiet manner as she rushed to the front of the balcony, looking over and pointing to the arena Kyungsoo saw earlier. Inside the ring was both the boy and the massive creature from before.

Up close and not viewing the scene from a window allowed Kyungsoo to really see the situation. The boy on top of the dark stallion had an impressive posture and amazing power, surely he would be a force to be reckoned with as time goes on. Any horse trained by him would poses immense force, that much is evident.

“Wow.”

Kyungsoo heard the princess speak again and though it was rude he drowned out her words, too captivated by the boy before him.

“What’s his name?” Kyungsoo asked watching as the boy rode bareback and picked up what he believes is called a trot. The pace is too slow to be a full gallop or canter and yet it was quicker than a normal walk. The young prince wasn’t sure though. He was never good with horses and feared the mighty creatures. They demand a level of respect that he doesn’t have.

“The boy or the horse?” The princess let out a laugh and Kyungsoo could hear footsteps rapidly approaching accompanied by the sound of chain metal. They’d be found out soon enough and surely a lecture was to follow. He was momentarily surprised though how fast they were found and wonders if someone was following the princess.

“The boy.” Kyungsoo answers quickly as he watches and feels something unexplainable in his heart react to watching the young boy ride the horse around the ring. He’s too far to see the boys features and can only make out an unruly mop of brown hair paired with a ratty tunic and breeches, from this point it seems that the boy is shoeless. An odd assemble of attire for someone to ride a royal stallion in. 

“The boy is a legend around here.” The door jingled as the princess spoke. They’d be here any moment and she seemed uncaring, either that or oblivious. Finally, the door broke open and guards rushed in followed by several servants.

Kyungsoo feared for a moment that he would leave without knowing the boys name. However, at the last moment the princess spoke in barely a whisper. It was so quiet that he nearly missed it as two servants took his hands, most likely planning to drag him to his lesson and or give a scolding for skipping. Yet he heard the name and he will remember it. He promised himself to remember it and cherish the name for as long as time allowed. The great stallion tamer.

“ _Kim Jongin_.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you're interested in reading more and if you have any questions let me know, I'll be happy to answer them!!!
> 
> Check out my twitter for extra information on this story and to see when the next update will happen: https://twitter.com/voltage_struck


End file.
